Los Angeles
The Free City of Los Angeles, which was ejected from the California Free State in 2050, is an independent city-state in Southern California. The city sprawl contains all of what was once considered Los Angeles County; since The Crude Rush in 2049, development has crowded every inch of the sprawl. The city is often defined by its three major industries: Entertainment, Oil/Gas and Heavy Industry, and Robotics/Cybernetics History 2011- The Awakening 2022- LA goes through a rough transition to meta-humanity. Racial discrimination and prejudice, an old problem for the city, rears its head; old racial divides are redrawn as communities split based on the different metatypes against one another. After a wave of race-riots, a wall is erected around a strict curfew is enforced for the south-LA neighborhood of El Infierno, an ork and troll community. 2045- A series of large earthquakes, which will become known as The Big Ones, trigger events that will change LA's fate. Early earthquakes trigger a failure at the nuclear reactor in Avalon, leaking irradiated material into the waters around Catalina. A late offshore earthquake created a massive tsunami, sweeping radioactive material far inland; this became known as the Green Tide. These earthquakes also revealed vast reserves of oil previously unknown to the world. 2049 - The height of The Crude Rush. Millions flood the sprawl seeking work in the oil industry. 2050 - An El Infierno based hacker collective named Magestone, upset over a lack of response to Green Tide, sabotages the gubernatorial election. Sacramento responds by sending California Rangers and mercenaries into the neighborhood. What follows is one of the worst massacres on North American soil. Riots erupt city-wide, civilian casualties are estimated at over 20,000. Many Rangers and mercenaries resign in disgust. CalFree, in order to distances themselves from the tragedy, removes LA from the state, establishing it as a Free-City. 2061- In addition to the Ute Nation, the Pueblo Corporate Council annexes the southern portion of the California Free State, including the area around Los Angeles, but not the city itself which remains free. 2069 - A gigantic earthquake collapses Long Beach into the ocean and reveals a large network of tunnels under the city stretching all the way to San Diego, named Deep Lacuna. Major Industries Entertainment The mecca for trideos, ubiquitous vr entertainment, Hollywood is still in full force. Massive media conglomerates have reestablished the studio system and wield control over the entertainment landscape not seen since the 1920's. The largest corporation active in entertainment is Horizon, a AAA rated multinational with a seat on the corporate council, which is based out of LA. Oil, Gas, and Heavy Industry With the vast oil reserves of oil that were discovered, heavy industry has choked the LA sky with a perpetual thick smog. The major player in the industry is the, German based, Saeder-Krupp. Robotics and Cybernetics After UCAS emancipated CalFree in 2039, funding was cut to JPL and the engineers were heavily recruited by corporations. It is not uncommon to see robots walking shoulder-to-shoulder with heavily modified people on the streets of Pasadena. The major player is, the Japan based, Mitsuhama Computer Technologies which took over administration of CalTech. Geography Major Neighborhoods Pasadena - A robotics and cybernetics mecca, very corporate controlled. El Infierno - A south Los Angeles Ork neighborhood. Economically distressed and formerly walled and curfewed Park Lake - An eastside Elven neighborhood. Active art scene. Horizon Hills - A company-town for the Horizon megacorp on the site of former Burbank. The largest film studio on earth. Baldwin Hills - An industrialized neighborhood controlled by Saeder-Krupp. Saint's Barrens - A large westside area. Heavily affected by Green Tide all but the bottom rung of society have moved out. Antelope Valley Favelas - Low income neighborhood. High Ute population. Harbor/Deepwater Industrial harbor controlled by Saeder-Krupp that stretches from the coast to Avalon along the seabed. Avalon - Catalina Island. Home of the Avalon nuclear facility. Hollywood - A domed tourist attraction Major Landmarks The Rift - A large canyon in Baldwin Hills that opened during the '69 earthquake. Heavily guarded by Saeder-Krupp it is said that it descends down into Deep Lacuna. Griffith Park - The park has become overgrown and the plants actively resist any attempt to develop the area. The LA River - Thanks to a perpetual storm in the Angeles mountains, kept in place by the druid sect The Buckhorn Lodge, The LA river is a perpetual source of freshwater for the city. The Universities - USC and UCLA are still major universities. USC, with its campus in EL Infierno, has become a bastion of radical political thought. UCLA was the first university to offer a degree in Thaumaturgy and is second only to MITT in magical research.